[Dulceácido]

To someone who has never been forward deployed, it sounds counter-intuitive, but you really are much safer on a FOB in Afghanistan than you are in urban areas of most large cities. If you're an idiot and you go looking for trouble, you'll fucking find it and find it quick. But if you don't do anything remarkably fucking stupid, you'll be just fine. I'm not suggesting it's a great idea and it's certainly not for everyone, but it does answer the mail when it comes to the original question... It's a job that pays very well, doesn't require advanced degrees or technical training, and allows you to work when you want to work with long periods of free time between gigs, if that's what you choose to do.
I would never recommend it for someone who wasn't motivated to do it, because it does suck. There is no doubt about that. But, as wlee25 mentioned, it sucks because it is fucking BORING when you're not working. I would never expect someone who has never been in a combat zone to understand, but it really is very safe. I know. It sounds insane. But, it really is. Any family member who asks me about working over here, I tell them to do it while you still can and the money is still available and I do so without reservations or concern for their safety or well-being. There is a lot of money to be made and a lot of leeway in working schedules and the opportunity is not always going to be there. Just my $0.02.

Maestrobaires -- Man, I looked through several search engines in regards to IT positions. There are several, it's just that now, since contracting has become big business, most of the sites I saw require a payed membership. If I was looking for a job, I would register with one of those sites and scour them for available positions. Just consult the almighty Google machine using keywords: Civilian contracting, IT
In fact, I even stumbled across several sites that advertised work not in combat zones... Still some dangerous places (Indonesia, Qatar, Kuwait, etc.) were listed, but there were also places like Germany, Japan, and Poland as well. I'd assume those areas don't pay as well as a combat zone, but whatever. I can't imagine it being difficult to find an IT position in lots of places if you are willing to travel, can stay deployed for a while, and have no problem enduring terminal boredom. But, it sounds like you've done it before, so you know the deal already.
Good luck!

[Sonsowey]

The easiest option I can think of is teaching English in an oil-rich Middle Eastern country. Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, and other such boring rich places pay well. For instance, I saw one offer for someone with a MA in TESOL in Abu Dhabi. The details were:

$60,000 a year
No income tax
Appartment paid for
Airfare paid for
Health insurance paid for

Many of these wealthy middle eastern countries don't tax the salaries of an English teacher at all, so that is $60,000 directly to you.

The problem with this is that, it's awfully boring, and these whole societies are set up to prevent people from getting laid. As a result, many people blow all their money travelling to more fun locations, and end up with nothing to show for their stint their.

For me, I'm working in the U.S. making about $50,000 a year. After taxes and rent and health insurance, really I'm taking home abuot $30,000. And I live on that just fine.

Now if I was making 60,000 without having to pay taxes, rent, insurance, or anything like that, I would make it an explicit goal to bank $30,000 and live off the other $30,000.

Maybe it wouldn't work out exactly that way. Maybe I only bank 25 or 20k. But that's not too bad either.

(01-01-2013 11:53 AM)Dulceácido Wrote:  

To someone who has never been forward deployed, it sounds counter-intuitive, but you really are much safer on a FOB in Afghanistan than you are in urban areas of most large cities.

What do you mean by FOB in Afghanistan?

What kind of work are you describing really?

[Dulceácido]

Sonsowey:
FOB is the abbreviation for "Forward Operating Base." It just means a small post outside of the much larger main bases. For example, Bagram is a very large airfield/base. It's like a small city. FOB's vary in size, but they're smaller than and supported by the larger bases.

And they type of work varies, too. It can be anything. There are people who work in logistics (drive trucks, forklifts, manage incoming/outgoing supplies, etc.), technical (welders, electricians, plumbers, carpenters, systems managers, network specialists, etc.) food service (manage cafeterias), mail/postal clerks--there are even car salesmen who will sale you a car just before you leave theater and ship it to a dealership in your home town. Almost anything you can think of, there is a position for it.

[speakeasy]

(12-23-2012 02:43 PM)king Wrote:  

Computer programming, specially web programming.

You can get a decent level of skill in about 6 months if you put the effort.

This is what I decided last week. I'd been more of a front end designer. I've decided to take some online courses and learn back-end programming. May get into Python or Ruby on Rails. I've thought pretty hard for awhile now about what direction I wanted to go and decided it's probably better to just stay in the same general field but maybe a different focus(back end vs front end). I got burned out from having to always be "creative on demand". I'll still have front end skills if I see a project I find particularly interesting, but these days I think I'd rather solve logical/analytical problems than more right-brain tasks.

[RichieP]

(01-01-2013 12:32 PM)speakeasy Wrote:  

This is what I decided last week. I'd been more of a front end designer. I've decided to take some online courses and learn back-end programming. May get into Python or Ruby on Rails. I've thought pretty hard for awhile now about what direction I wanted to go and decided it's probably better to just stay in the same general field but maybe a different focus(back end vs front end). I got burned out from having to always be "creative on demand". I'll still have front end skills if I see a project I find particularly interesting, but these days I think I'd rather solve logical/analytical problems than more right-brain tasks.

As a designer are you currently location independent?

Let us know how you go with the programming - especially the location independent part. I know the route into development is pretty straightforward for a 9-5 office job, but we'd love to hear about how you make it work on the road.

Are you intending to go freelance, telecommute, or the "6 months on / 6 months off" contract thing?

cheers mate.

[pitt]

(01-01-2013 11:53 AM)Dulceácido Wrote:  

To someone who has never been forward deployed, it sounds counter-intuitive, but you really are much safer on a FOB in Afghanistan than you are in urban areas of most large cities. If you're an idiot and you go looking for trouble, you'll fucking find it and find it quick. But if you don't do anything remarkably fucking stupid, you'll be just fine. I'm not suggesting it's a great idea and it's certainly not for everyone, but it does answer the mail when it comes to the original question... It's a job that pays very well, doesn't require advanced degrees or technical training, and allows you to work when you want to work with long periods of free time between gigs, if that's what you choose to do.
I would never recommend it for someone who wasn't motivated to do it, because it does suck. There is no doubt about that. But, as wlee25 mentioned, it sucks because it is fucking BORING when you're not working. I would never expect someone who has never been in a combat zone to understand, but it really is very safe. I know. It sounds insane. But, it really is. Any family member who asks me about working over here, I tell them to do it while you still can and the money is still available and I do so without reservations or concern for their safety or well-being. There is a lot of money to be made and a lot of leeway in working schedules and the opportunity is not always going to be there. Just my $0.02.

Maestrobaires -- Man, I looked through several search engines in regards to IT positions. There are several, it's just that now, since contracting has become big business, most of the sites I saw require a payed membership. If I was looking for a job, I would register with one of those sites and scour them for available positions. Just consult the almighty Google machine using keywords: Civilian contracting, IT
In fact, I even stumbled across several sites that advertised work not in combat zones... Still some dangerous places (Indonesia, Qatar, Kuwait, etc.) were listed, but there were also places like Germany, Japan, and Poland as well. I'd assume those areas don't pay as well as a combat zone, but whatever. I can't imagine it being difficult to find an IT position in lots of places if you are willing to travel, can stay deployed for a while, and have no problem enduring terminal boredom. But, it sounds like you've done it before, so you know the deal already.
Good luck!

This sounds interesting. Im sure these war zones are not as bad as people say it is, i was recently in a war zone country and it wasnt that bad. And i used to hit bad spots the whole time.

Anyway, how easy is it to get one of these jobs? Is this just for americans or they recruit british citizens too?

Not sure if they would be willing to recruit someone with little experience. My field is health, safety and environment.

I would love to get one of these jobs.

[maestrobaires]

certain companies recruit from just about any country. and i-m sure there are companies catering the UK nationals too, given britain's role in that mess

[Aliblahba]

(01-01-2013 11:53 AM)Dulceácido Wrote:  

To someone who has never been forward deployed, it sounds counter-intuitive, but you really are much safer on a FOB in Afghanistan than you are in urban areas of most large cities. If you're an idiot and you go looking for trouble, you'll fucking find it and find it quick. But if you don't do anything remarkably fucking stupid, you'll be just fine. I'm not suggesting it's a great idea and it's certainly not for everyone, but it does answer the mail when it comes to the original question... It's a job that pays very well, doesn't require advanced degrees or technical training, and allows you to work when you want to work with long periods of free time between gigs, if that's what you choose to do.
I would never recommend it for someone who wasn't motivated to do it, because it does suck. There is no doubt about that. But, as wlee25 mentioned, it sucks because it is fucking BORING when you're not working. I would never expect someone who has never been in a combat zone to understand, but it really is very safe. I know. It sounds insane. But, it really is. Any family member who asks me about working over here, I tell them to do it while you still can and the money is still available and I do so without reservations or concern for their safety or well-being. There is a lot of money to be made and a lot of leeway in working schedules and the opportunity is not always going to be there. Just my $0.02.

Maestrobaires -- Man, I looked through several search engines in regards to IT positions. There are several, it's just that now, since contracting has become big business, most of the sites I saw require a payed membership. If I was looking for a job, I would register with one of those sites and scour them for available positions. Just consult the almighty Google machine using keywords: Civilian contracting, IT
In fact, I even stumbled across several sites that advertised work not in combat zones... Still some dangerous places (Indonesia, Qatar, Kuwait, etc.) were listed, but there were also places like Germany, Japan, and Poland as well. I'd assume those areas don't pay as well as a combat zone, but whatever. I can't imagine it being difficult to find an IT position in lots of places if you are willing to travel, can stay deployed for a while, and have no problem enduring terminal boredom. But, it sounds like you've done it before, so you know the deal already.
Good luck!

I spent years in warzones and cosign this. Unfortunately that cash cow is coming to a close. I'm tired of the shit anyway, but it has fueled some epic trips around the world.

(01-01-2013 12:17 PM)Sonsowey Wrote:  

The easiest option I can think of is teaching English in an oil-rich Middle Eastern country. Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, and other such boring rich places pay well. For instance, I saw one offer for someone with a MA in TESOL in Abu Dhabi. The details were:

$60,000 a year
No income tax
Appartment paid for
Airfare paid for
Health insurance paid for

Many of these wealthy middle eastern countries don't tax the salaries of an English teacher at all, so that is $60,000 directly to you.

The problem with this is that, it's awfully boring, and these whole societies are set up to prevent people from getting laid. As a result, many people blow all their money travelling to more fun locations, and end up with nothing to show for their stint their.

For me, I'm working in the U.S. making about $50,000 a year. After taxes and rent and health insurance, really I'm taking home abuot $30,000. And I live on that just fine.

Now if I was making 60,000 without having to pay taxes, rent, insurance, or anything like that, I would make it an explicit goal to bank $30,000 and live off the other $30,000.

Maybe it wouldn't work out exactly that way. Maybe I only bank 25 or 20k. But that's not too bad either.

(01-01-2013 11:53 AM)Dulceácido Wrote:  

To someone who has never been forward deployed, it sounds counter-intuitive, but you really are much safer on a FOB in Afghanistan than you are in urban areas of most large cities.

What do you mean by FOB in Afghanistan?

What kind of work are you describing really?

Wrong. Getting laid in the ME is easy. Those countries are rife with OFW's, and being American/British is DHV. I got my Sri Lanka flag in Kuwait. The local gals are hard, but if you are living/working there eventually you'll hit pay dirt.

[maestrobaires]

most of my pinays i actually banged in ME. haha i've got my sri lankan flag in kuwait too

[RichieP]

Ooh, now we're talking. Getting laid with foreign workers in Middle East...

someone break that down. I guess there's alot of philipinas, in hospitals/ service jobs? Any other ripe demographics?

Can you guys expand on this?

[Aliblahba]

(01-05-2013 11:14 AM)RichieP Wrote:  

Ooh, now we're talking. Getting laid with foreign workers in Middle East...

someone break that down. I guess there's alot of philipinas, in hospitals/ service jobs? Any other ripe demographics?

Can you guys expand on this?

OFW's outnumber Kuwaitis 3-1. Sign up for FilipinoCupid and you'll get bombarded. Lots and lots of Indians, Sri Lankans, Egyptians, ect. The UAE is a melting pot also. I never went without puss in Kuwait. It's easy. The hotel I stayed last time in Dubai had a bunch of sexy lil pinays working the front desk. You'll also see E. African girls, and they love to date white American dudes.

Don't discount the ME as a place to work and get laid. Plus it's in a great geographical location for short flights to other places.

[RichieP]

(01-05-2013 11:18 AM)Aliblahba Wrote:  

(01-05-2013 11:14 AM)RichieP Wrote:  

Ooh, now we're talking. Getting laid with foreign workers in Middle East...

someone break that down. I guess there's alot of philipinas, in hospitals/ service jobs? Any other ripe demographics?

Can you guys expand on this?

OFW's outnumber Kuwaitis 3-1. Sign up for FilipinoCupid and you'll get bombarded. Lots and lots of Indians, Sri Lankans, Egyptians, ect. The UAE is a melting pot also. I never went without puss in Kuwait. It's easy. The hotel I stayed last time in Dubai had a bunch of sexy lil pinays working the front desk. You'll also see E. African girls, and they love to date white American dudes.

Don't discount the ME as a place to work and get laid. Plus it's in a great geographical location for short flights to other places.

Awesome. I'd be keen to go, possibly for english teaching, maybe even just for the experience, but have always discounted it as completely dry on the girls front.

Your info opens up a whole new slew of possibilities... cheers.

[Aliblahba]

Social circle is everything there. Don't know how many times I said or heard, "You have friend for my friend?" Lol. The food is amazing there also. I lived on Lebanese food, scharmas, chicken tandoori, garlic nan, and whatever that that fried chicken is in Indian. Very healthy cuisine. The weather sucks in the summer, but everything is A/C.

Just stay away from countries that are dry.

[Dulceácido]

(01-01-2013 03:07 PM)pitt Wrote:  

This sounds interesting. Im sure these war zones are not as bad as people say it is, i was recently in a war zone country and it wasnt that bad. And i used to hit bad spots the whole time.

Anyway, how easy is it to get one of these jobs? Is this just for americans or they recruit british citizens too?

Not sure if they would be willing to recruit someone with little experience. My field is health, safety and environment.

I would love to get one of these jobs.

It's very easy to get these jobs for the simple fact that most people are scared/reluctant to apply. This is also why they pay so well for doing fuck-all for work. They're looking for bodies to fill positions and the different positions are too numerous to list. It doesn't necessarily have to be something that you have experience in. Like I said, in some cases, they may be looking for someone to run an internet cafe or check-out basketballs at a gym... Sort mail... Move shit with a forklift... You get the point.
Your citizenship doesn't really matter either, as long as you speak English. A clean criminal record helps by leaps and bounds as well. If you can get a security clearance, that opens a lot of doors, too.

Like I mentioned before, consult the almighty Google and search the words "Civilian Contracting Jobs" and sites will pop up all over the place... Where I am, the predominant service contractor is Fluor.
http://www.fluor.com/careers/pages/default.aspx
But there are several...
DynCorp International: http://www.dyn-intl.com/careers.aspx
KBR: http://www.kbr.com/Careers/
The list goes on and on.

Check: http://www.icaonline.us/home/

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of contracting companies. Most of the job search sites require a paid membership, but if I were looking for work, I would splurge the $30/40 dollars for a subscription.

I won't thread-jack the OP anymore and I don't plan on opening another thread on the topic, but if any of you guys have any questions or there is anything else I can help you with, don't hesitate to message me. I'll help you in any way I can.

[Laser]

(01-01-2013 12:17 PM)Sonsowey Wrote:  

Many of these wealthy middle eastern countries don't tax the salaries of an English teacher at all, so that is $60,000 directly to you.

Just a heads up. This is true if you are only making $60k, but if you are a US citizen, you have to pay taxes on all worldwide income after the first $90k or so. Sucks. However, you do get to net out foreign income tax you've already paid.

[deuce]

(01-05-2013 01:20 PM)Laser Wrote:  

(01-01-2013 12:17 PM)Sonsowey Wrote:  

Many of these wealthy middle eastern countries don't tax the salaries of an English teacher at all, so that is $60,000 directly to you.

Just a heads up. This is true if you are only making $60k, but if you are a US citizen, you have to pay taxes on all worldwide income after the first $90k or so. Sucks. However, you do get to net out foreign income tax you've already paid.

I believe it's up to $92,500 if you spend 330 days or more physically outside of the US. The IRS is becoming harder on that though. I know a guy who they initially denied the foreign income exclusion because since he had a house in the US he was "had physical ties." His accountant was able to fight it and get him the exemption but with the US going down the crapper the IRS is throwing all kinds of shit to the wall and seeing what sticks.

If you're working as an independent contractor (IC) and receiving a 1099 (IRS form) there are ways around it such as forming an S corporation or LLC.

[deuce]

Also like Ali said the security side of the business in Iraq and A-stan is coming to a close. If you're not a US citizen with a clearance forget about it. I do see a lot of medical/IT positions on the job boards in other places though. Secureaspects.com is oriented toward contract work in warzones, it's only $10 a month.

If anyone has an IT background, sign up for SAIC's job alerts. They do a lot of IT contract support for the federal government and they pay well. Though a few are forward deployed, most are located in the DC area. You usually have to be a US citizen and ideally already hold a security clearance though. But sometimes they'll obtain it for you if you're clean.

[Dr. C]

Hey Deuce,

You mentioned in your post medical Jobs on job boards in places other than A-stan. Would you be so kind as to elaborate?

[deuce]

(01-21-2013 07:58 PM)Dr. C Wrote:  

Hey Deuce,

You mentioned in your post medical Jobs on job boards in places other than A-stan. Would you be so kind as to elaborate?

State uses contract medical providers (Comprehensive Health Services is one that immediately comes to mind) at consulates/embassies in some austere locations. Those will be listed on secureaspects.com (among others) and State's website (state.gov). Also the oil/gas outfits in Alaska and the Middle East use contract paramedics, PAs, and RNs.

A friend of mine is an emergency room MD and is shitcanning a full time job at the university hospital to do slightly lower-paying contract doctoring so he can take 4-5 months to paraglide in Nepal and South America. I'll ask him about the contract MD stuff.

[bojangles]

I'm going to do a project management course next month, it's good pay and you can contract a few months at a time if you like

[RichieP]

(01-22-2013 05:36 AM)bojangles Wrote:  

I'm going to do a project management course next month, it's good pay and you can contract a few months at a time if you like

Nice. Definitely let us know how that goes. What sort of industry are you looking to go into with that?

I'm starting to think maybe 6 months on / 6 months off, perhaps with some light freelancing online in the off-period, could be a good shout. I've realised I dont need to travel permanently, I just need a decent chunk per year where I'm free.

[pitt]

(01-22-2013 06:31 AM)RichieP Wrote:  

(01-22-2013 05:36 AM)bojangles Wrote:  

I'm going to do a project management course next month, it's good pay and you can contract a few months at a time if you like

Nice. Definitely let us know how that goes. What sort of industry are you looking to go into with that?

I'm starting to think maybe 6 months on / 6 months off, perhaps with some light freelancing online in the off-period, could be a good shout. [b]I've realised I dont need to travel permanently, I just need a decent chunk per year where I'm free.[/b]

This

Why dont you join the oil industry?

[bojangles]

(01-22-2013 06:31 AM)RichieP Wrote:  

(01-22-2013 05:36 AM)bojangles Wrote:  

I'm going to do a project management course next month, it's good pay and you can contract a few months at a time if you like

Nice. Definitely let us know how that goes. What sort of industry are you looking to go into with that?

I'm starting to think maybe 6 months on / 6 months off, perhaps with some light freelancing online in the off-period, could be a good shout. I've realised I dont need to travel permanently, I just need a decent chunk per year where I'm free.

I've been in the investment banking industry for 5 years and practically run projects throughout that time but not been paid the rate for it without the PRINCE2, found some week intensive 5 day courses from around £595 upwards. Once I get the qualification I can reword my CV(resume) around that and the projects I've worked on through this time, you can really set about using it in any industry where there is project work (most) and pay is variable depending on whether you're contracting or permanent.

[Sonsowey]

(01-05-2013 01:20 PM)Laser Wrote:  

(01-01-2013 12:17 PM)Sonsowey Wrote:  

Many of these wealthy middle eastern countries don't tax the salaries of an English teacher at all, so that is $60,000 directly to you.

Just a heads up. This is true if you are only making $60k, but if you are a US citizen, you have to pay taxes on all worldwide income after the first $90k or so. Sucks. However, you do get to net out foreign income tax you've already paid.

If I am ever earning more than 92,000 a year, I swear to Allah that I will never gripe about paying taxes.

What a wonderful problem to have!

[Sonsowey]

(01-05-2013 10:56 AM)Aliblahba Wrote:  

Wrong. Getting laid in the ME is easy. Those countries are rife with OFW's, and being American/British is DHV. I got my Sri Lanka flag in Kuwait. The local gals are hard, but if you are living/working there eventually you'll hit pay dirt.

Damn, great to hear!

What countries specifically do you have experience in besides Kuwait?

Would love some ME data sheets.